On October 3rd, the price of WTI crude oil5 rose to $76.24 per barrel, the highest in four years (Market Watch). By last Friday, the price had dropped 26% to $56.46. Included in the steep selloff was a decline that lasted a record-setting 12-straight days (WSJ), culminating in a 7% selloff on Tuesday.

Some of us voted red, and some of us voted blue. So many things make the USA a great nation. Among others, our right to vote and exercising that right makes us all red, white, and blue.

There are many reasons why we choose our respective candidates. I won’t delve into the specifics. My job is to interpret various events through a very narrow lens – through the prism of an investor.

The question that typically arises following an election – how will the results impact the market? How might a change in leadership affect my portfolio?

The graphic below reviews various scenarios. For example, between 1928 – 2017 a Republican president has sat opposite a divided Congress for seven years. That is the situation we’ll be facing next year. The average annual return for the S&P 500 Index, including reinvested dividends, has been 12.0%.